The Interruption
by Jenny wrens
Summary: Tony's romantic evening is interrupted. Aimee/Janessa Universe.


**Hi, Readers! Just a cute little one-shot for you.**

 **Family, school, kids oh my! Life is busy so I haven't had much time to write. Here is a little offering for you in case you miss Aimee and Janessa.**

 **Enjoy!**

"Can I get you anything?" said Tony as he walked out of his bedroom wearing silk pajama bottoms and a big grin. He headed towards the kitchen on a mission to find food and plenty of it. He was starving. He'd spent the last several hours working up a ferocious appetite and needed sustenance if he planned to keep up his evening adventures. And he did! A shapely woman entered the kitchen behind him wearing the matching top to his bottom. She came up and embraced him from behind nibbling on his left ear seductively.

"Just you," she mumbled into his ear. "Why'd you leave?"

Tony spun around and kissed her, pulling on her bottom lip playfully with his teeth. "You're killing me, Jess. I need food, or I'm gonna die from exhaustion." He peeled her arms off of him and tried to open the refrigerator. "C'mon, you must be hungry. I don't imagine you had much time to eat dinner tonight before your arrival."

The brunette sat on the closest chair, gathered her long hair into her hands, and twisted it into a ponytail at the back of her head. She pulled an elastic band off her small wrist and tied it tightly around her hair.

"I don't have much time on this layover, Tony, and I really wanted to see you."

Tony grinned and grabbed some beers from the fridge, tossing one towards her.

"It's good to see you, Jess. It's been a long time."

Jessica twisted the cap off and took a sip of the cold liquid. "Too long." Her voice was soft and seductive which made Tony shiver. "I've missed you."

Tony smiled at her before turning to pull out some eggs and other ingredients from his fridge to fix his infamous omelets. The two friends chatted comfortably as they prepared the meal. Just as Tony poured the first egg mixture into the frying pan, the doorbell rang causing him to furrow a brow. He checked out the time on the stove. It was half-past 10 on a Saturday night. It was kind of late for someone to call on him unannounced.

"Who could that be?" he mumbled to himself as he wiped his hands on a tea towel. "Watch the eggs for me, Jess. I'll see who that is…"

Jessica ran a finger along his bare arm. "Whoever it is, make them go away." Her grin made the hair on his arms stand on end.

He leaned in and kissed her gently on her soft lips. "But of course, ma Cherie."

Tony exited the kitchen and headed towards his front door. "Who is it?" he said loudly, hoping his voice sounded as unfriendly and as annoyed as he felt at the interruption. He peeked through the peephole and his brows flew to his hairline in surprise. What on earth? He unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door to see Janessa staring up at him with her big blue eyes as round as saucers. She was dressed in her Disney Princess pajamas and had her little pink backpack over her shoulders.

"Nessie?" he said, stooping down to her level. "How'd you get here?"

The tiny, blonde haired girl wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a big kiss on his cheek.

"Hiya, Tony!" she said in a loud, cheerful voice.

Tony picked her up in his arms. "Did you come with Gibbs?"

Janessa shook her head. "Nope."

"Abby?"

She shook her head again.

"She came with me, Tony," said another small voice from the hallway.

Tony looked down to see Aimee walk around the corner of the corridor and stare up at him with determination on her face. She was also dressed in her pajamas and sporting her backpack.

"We runs away, Tony," explained Janessa with a serious expression on her face, "Well, just Aimee did but she dragded me too." The little girl sighed in exasperation, rolled her eyes and pointed at Aimee. "Her and Mr. Gibbs had a fight."

Tony nodded in understanding. He looked down at Aimee who was fidgeting with her hands.

"Gibbs know you two took off?"

Aimee huffed angrily. "What would be the point of running away if he knew?"

Tony sighed. "Come inside, you two scallywags, before my neighbours complain about the racket."

Tony carried Janessa inside and set her to her feet, stepping aside so Aimee could enter the front foyer. Tony's apartment was an open concept for the most part so as soon as you set foot into the room, you were greeted by his large grand piano standing proudly in front of an enormous window looking out onto the front of the street. Beside that was his comfortable and spacious living room.

Janessa rushed over to the piano and climbed up on the bench. She immediately began to play a song Tony had taught her the last time he'd had the girls stay with him.

"Hey, Squirt, that's great! You remembered where to put your fingers too. Good for you!" he praised her with a wide grin.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Jessica wander into the room from the kitchen. Tony groaned inwardly. So much for a romantic evening. Jessica's layover was short, and he certainly couldn't expect her to sit around waiting while he solved this problem. He scrubbed a hand over his face feeling just a little frustrated but that feeling melted away quickly when he looked at Aimee's angry face. As much as he would have enjoyed his evening with Jessica, Aimee and Janessa were more important to him. They were part of his family and their needs took precedence.

"Jess, these are my…" Tony hesitated. He wasn't sure how to explain to her who they were to him. They weren't his sisters, and they weren't his nieces, but they were still every bit his family. He decided to just introduce them by name. "The world-famous pianist over there is Janessa Percy." Janessa kept playing her song, her tongue sticking out her mouth as she concentrated. Tony walked over to where Aimee stood and placed a warm hand on her head. "And this munchkin is her sister Aimee Percy. Girls, this is my friend, Jessica Hilton."

Aimee eyed Jessica carefully taking in her state of dress and rumpled appearance. Tony chewed his lip wondering how much Aimee would know or postulate in her young mind. He wasn't sure just how knowledgeable the little girl was in life.

Jessica smiled warmly. "Well, hello there, Aimee. I'm glad to meet you," she exclaimed as she walked over to Tony and reached out her hand towards Aimee.

Aimee scowled at her. "Why are you wearing Tony's pajamas?"

Jessica dropped her hand, her face becoming red. She looked at Tony with the look that said, 'help me out here'.

Tony took Aimee by the hand and led her towards the sofa. "Jessica and I are having a sleepover. You know, like you sometimes have with your friends?"

Aimee frowned as she plopped herself onto the sofa and crossed her arms. "Boys and girls don't have sleepovers, Tony." She said simply.

Tony winked at Jessica and chuckled. "Is that so?"

Jessica smirked at him in return. "I think I'm going to go jump in the shower, Tony. Do you mind?"

Tony sat down beside Aimee and nodded. "Go ahead, Jess. You'll find clean towels under the sink and probably whatever else you need in the drawers. Help yourself."

"The My Little Pony toothbrush is mine," piped up Janessa from the piano. "but you can use it if you forgot yours, and I gots Frozen toothpaste too. It tastes like strawberries. You can use that too. Tony's tastes like peppermint gum and I hates that!"

Jessica smiled. "Thanks, sweetheart. That's very kind of you."

Jessica disappeared into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

Tony looked at Aimee and sighed. He had no idea what to say, and Aimee glared at him, just daring him to scold her. He pinched the bridge of his nose and reached for his cell phone on the coffee table.

Aimee's eyes widened indignantly. "You better not tell him we're here!"

"Aims, he'll be freaking out wondering where you went. I need to call him."

Aimee stood to her feet and smacked the phone out of his hands. "NO!" she screamed. "I hate him, and I'm never going back there ever again. " She stomped her feet for added emphasis.

Janessa slipped down from the piano bench and wondered over to Tony. Tony helped untangle her from her backpack and pulled her into his lap, planting a kiss on her head. She leaned back into his chest and yawned.

"Aimee gots in trouble."

"So I gathered." Tony looked at Aimee with compassion. "What happened?"

Aimee crossed her arms and growled. "Nothing!"

"Aimee, you came to my house and disrupted my sleepover with my friend so don't you dare stand there and tell me nothing happened. If that were true, you'd be fast asleep at home at Gibbs' house. Now, spill it!" Tony allowed his voice to sound much sterner than he felt.

"She burned up Mr. Gibbs' boat."

"I did not!" shouted Aimee.

"Yes, you did so." Janessa insisted. "You're not 'posed to go in the basement and play with his tools."

Aimee clenched her fist and all but leaped towards Janessa to strike her. Tony blocked the blow and frowned at her sternly.

"Hey, none of that! You don't hit your sister," he scolded.

Aimee sat back and glowered at him.

"Nessie, why don't you go lie down on my bed and get some sleep. Me and Aimee need to have a little chat."

Janessa rolled her head back and forth against Tony's chest in protest. "Will you read me a story, Tony? Daddy always reads me a story but tonight he was a grouch."

"Like Oscar the Grouch?"

Janessa looked up at him with a slight eye roll. "I'm too old for Sesame Street. Sheesh," she complained.

Tony chuckled and slid her off his knee. "Well, I'm so sorry for insulting you. Go snuggle under the covers and as soon as I'm finished, I will read you a story. How does that sound?"

Janessa opened her mouth and yawned as she shook a finger at his nose. "Okay, but you better not forget, mister."

Tony turned her around and gave her a small push towards the bedroom. "You've been watching too much Full House again, haven't you? Now shoo!"

Janessa turned, tossing him a look of indignation at being pushed but relented when she saw his serious look. Scowling at him, she headed towards his bedroom.

Tony turned his attention to Aimee who was still glowering at him. He leaned over and picked up his cell phone that she had smacked out his hands. He held it out towards her.

"Either I call Gibbs or you do. That is your choice."

Aimee turned away and put her back to him.

Tony sighed. "Tell me what happened, Aims."

She shook her head.

"Hey, C'mon, I get it. Gibbs can be impossible sometimes. Hello, I'm the guy he smacks around all day. Remember? I probably have a concussion and don't even know it. I'm pretty sure I count 100 different new stars daily. I think you can tell me what happened that has made you angry enough to run away. Now, C'mon, talk to me!"

Aimee huffed loudly. "All I did was use his heat gun…"

Tony felt his heart rate increase. "Heat gun?"

"Yah."

"For what?"

"Remember Tracy Richards?"

Tony nodded. Tracy was the little girl Aimee had befriended that lived down the road from Gibbs.

"Well, she said you can make Shrinky Dinks from cut up plastic trays. She saw it on her mom's Pinterest. So, I made one but Abby was making something in the oven so I couldn't shrink it in there. I thought the heat gun would work just as good."

Tony rubbed a hand across his face in nervous amusement. "Where does Gibbs' boat come into it?"

Aimee turned around and looked at him with wide eyes. Tears shimmered on her cheeks and she was chewing on her finger. "I just set it down for a second to heat up…" she looked down at her lap.

"And?" prompted Tony, knowing that was not where the story ended.

"I kinda forgot about it when I heard Gibbs come downstairs. I knew he'd be super mad that I was in the basement without permission so I hid. He came down and got something and then left again, switching off the light." She stopped again and looked at him, her face pale.

"Keep going."

"I got so scared I changed my mind and went back upstairs…"

Tony grimaced. "And you forgot about the heat gun."

She nodded.

"Oh, Belshazzar." He mumbled under his breath.

Aimee wrinkled her nose. "Who's that?"

"Never mind," he muttered. "Geez, Aims, you sure have got yourself into a pickle, haven't you?"

Aimee stood up and wandered over to the piano, sitting on the bench and plunking at some random keys. Tony walked over and sat beside her. He rested his fingers on the keys and began to play softly.

"So, how much damage to the boat?" asked Tony while he played.

Aimee shrugged. "I dunno; I didn't ask him."

"How did he find it?"

"We smelled something burning at supper so Gibbs went to check. He found my drawing by the heat gun."

Tony made a sympathetic face while he played. "Busted."

"Yah."

"I can see why he was mad though, Aimee. That could have been really bad. The house could have burned down and all of you with it. How'd you even get his heat gun? Gibbs locks everything up down there so you girls don't get into mischief."

Aimee's face reddened and tears fell down her cheeks. "I kinda took his key from his keychain."

Tony stopped playing and whistled. "That is a whole lot of trouble you got yourself into, isn't it?"

She nodded, swiping at the tears on her cheeks.

"Seems to me that Gibbs should be the one being mad, Aimee, not you."

Aimee chewed on a hangnail on her finger. "He yelled at me, Tony, and sent me to my room. Then he came up later and yelled some more…"

Tony was surprised at this. He'd known Gibbs for a long time, and the man was definitely not a yeller. If anything, the angrier he got, the softer he spoke. It just wasn't in the man to yell.

"Aimee, are you telling me the truth here?"

Aimee fidgeted on the bench and turned to look out the window.

Tony wrapped an arm around her. "I've known Gibbs a very long time, even before I worked at NCIS and one thing I know about him is Gibbs never yells. He might shout at the odd bad guy in interrogation just to intimidate them to get them to confess, but as a rule, he speaks very softly."

Aimee shrugged Tony's arm off. "Well, he probably wanted to intimidate me. He loves that dumb ole boat more than me."

"You know that's not true, Aims…"

Aimee slid off the bench and headed towards Tony's front door on a mission. Tony quickly chased after her, catching her by the arm before she could reach the door handle. He scooped her up and tossed her over his shoulder, putting the chain in place on the door.

"Lemme go, you big dummy!"

He began walking over to the sofa again when he saw Jessica coming out of the bathroom. She grimaced when she saw him struggling with the nine-year-old. Aimee was kicking her feet and pounding him on the back.

"I think I'm going to head out, Tony. You look like you have your hands full."

Tony heaved a sigh and nodded. "I'm really sorry, Jess."

"Lemme go!" Aimee screamed again. "A lizard is gonna eat your gizzard."

Jessica covered her mouth to keep from laughing at Aimee's words. "It's fine. I had a lot of fun catching up, Tony, and the next time I'm in D.C., I'll be sure to stop in again." Jessica walked over and managed to press a kiss to his cheek through Aimee's frantic kicking. She patted Aimee's leg kindly. "Hey, Aimee, be nice to Tony; he's a really nice guy."

"Shut up!" Aimee shouted.

Tony frowned, set Aimee to her feet and shook a finger in her face sternly. "Hey! You don't get to be rude to my friend. Apologise right now."

Aimee's eyes widened in surprise at Tony's stern reprimand and she gulped. Tony never was one to get firm with her and she knew it. He was the playful big brother.

"I-I'm sorry," she stuttered.

"It's okay, sweetie." Jessica smiled and kissed Tony again. "Don't be too hard on her, Tony. It looks like she's having a rough day."

Tony put his hands on his hips and glared at Aimee. Jessica hesitated for a few moments and then disappeared into the bedroom to collect the rest of her belongings.

Aimee gulped several times as Tony continued to glare at her. "I'm sorry, Tony."

Tony softened, feeling an overwhelming urge to smack himself on the back of the head. He didn't like to see Aimee look fearful and for just a few seconds, he thought he saw fear in her eyes. He scrubbed a hand across his face and dropped his shoulders to force himself to relax.

"Are you hungry?"

She shook her head looking at him with uncertainty. She'd found herself in Tony's bad graces and she didn't like it.

He stuck his hands in his pajama bottoms and wandered over to the sofa to get his cell phone once again. He held it out to her. Once again, Aimee shook her head.

"Listen, Aims, I'm calling bull crap on your whole 'Gibbs yelled at me' story. I've known the boss man for a long time, and there is no way he would shout at you. Raise his voice, maybe, but full out yell? Nope. Sorry. Not buying it. You call him or I do. Final choice here."

This time tears escaped down Aimee's cheeks. "Please, Tony, don't call him just yet, okay?"

Tony sighed and looked at her. He gave a quick glance at the wall noting the time. If Gibbs hadn't noticed the girls were missing he wouldn't be so concerned, but if the man had noticed, it was cruel to let him worry needlessly. Tony held up a hand. "I'm going to shoot Abby a text and then we'll talk some more. Gibbs doesn't check his phone but I know Abby will."

Aimee looked ready to protest but Tony shook his head.

"Gibbs and Abby will be worried and it's not fair to do that to them. Don't worry. Abby can handle Gibbs."

Aimee narrowed her eyes and sighed. "Fine, but only a text. Not calls. Promise?"

Tony nodded. "For now, okay." He shot off a quick text to Abby letting her know the girls were safe and to keep Gibbs from storming over to his house like a rabid animal. He knew that for the most part, Abby could get Gibbs to listen to reason. Rushing over and making an already hostile environment worse wasn't going to help any of them. Aimee needed to make the decision to call Gibbs on her own. Of course, a little help from Tony couldn't hurt. After all, the kid had come to him so that gave him the right Before Tony had a chance to even set the phone down, Abby had returned his text scolding him for not telling her sooner. Tony rolled his eyes knowing that Abby's reaction was tame compared to what Gibbs would be when he found out. He rubbed the back of his head in anticipation. Choosing to ignore further communication, Tony tossed his cell onto the coffee table.

"So, Small Fry, how about the truth now?"

"I told you what happened, Tony," she whined.

Tony beckoned her closer and pointed to the chair for her to sit. He sat down in front of her on the coffee table. "Yep, and now I'm waiting to find out why you ran off dragging your little sister out at this time of night."

Aimee's eyes flashed. "Janessa goes where I go."

"Oh, I see, so it's worth it to you to get her in trouble just because you're mad at Gibbs?"

"She's not gonna get in trouble."

"She's five years old. She should be at home in bed!" Aimee frowned at his words. "So, yah, now she is in trouble, thanks to you."

Aimee chewed her lip.

"Why'd you take off?"

Aimee glared at him. "I hate him…"

"Stop that! Stop saying you hate your dad whenever things don't go your way. You're the one who broke the rules. You're the one who almost caused a fire. You're the one who damaged Gibbs' boat. None of those things is Gibbs' fault, are they?"

Aimee looked at him with wide eyes without an answer.

"So why are you here?"

Aimee still didn't answer him but tears swam in her eyes. She fidgeted on the chair and looked away. She mumbled something that was nearly unintelligible except it wasn't. Her face reddened and then she turned to hide her face in the fabric of the chair.

It those moments, Tony understood. He took a deep breath and reached out and put a gentle hand on her knee.

"Aimee, look at me."

She shook her head.

Tony reached over and grabbed her chin carefully, forcing her to look at him. Her face was red and tears streamed down her face.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that he spanked you, am I right?"

Aimee blinked back more tears but remained silent.

Tony stroked her cheek with his thumb. "Nothing has changed, sweetheart. That boat is not more important to him than you. You know that, right? Whatever happened to that boat was not the reason why he spanked you."

Aimee hiccupped in response.

"Honey, he hasn't stopped loving you. Didn't he tell you that?"

She sniffled. "I-I yelled at him really l-loud, and I said I hated him."

"He knows you didn't mean it, Aims. People say a lot of things they don't mean when they're hurting. He knows you were upset with him." Tony sat on the edge of the chair and pulled her into his arms. "Let me guess. He left you alone to calm down for a while?"

Aimee's bottom lip protruded as she tried to calm down. Tony massaged her hands as he snuggled her closely.

"He loves you, Aimee. Don't you doubt that for a second, okay? He wouldn't be bothered correcting you if he didn't care and love you. Him leaving the room was only to give you some space and time to calm down. Hey, this whole parenting gig is new to him. He probably needed some time to calm down too." Tony was quiet for a moment. "What you did was very dangerous, honey. Gibbs has warned you and Janessa repeatedly about his basement being off-limits, and he's shown you a lot of grace in the matter, hasn't he?"

Aimee nodded.

"Whaddaya say we call him so you can talk to him? I betcha you and he will both be better."

Just then Jessica entered the room carrying her belongings. She smiled at Tony as she walked to the front door. Aimee didn't acknowledge her other than looking up.

'I'm sorry, Jess,' his eyes told her from afar. She nodded and blew him a kiss before leaving the apartment silently.

"Sorry, your friend left, Tony."

Tony smiled and pulled her in tighter. "Hey, you and Janessa are my best girls and always will be. Jessica understands.

Aimee wriggled in his arms to get up so he let her. She reached for his cell phone slowly and then turned to look at Tony.

"I promise you everything will work out, Aims. I've got your back."

Aimee held the cell phone like it was a hot potato ready to burn her hand.

"He didn't."

"He didn't?" echoed Tony, not understanding what she was telling him.

"He didn't yell at me."

He smiled as he stood up. "I know and he won't. It's not Gibb's style. Go on, call him." Tony cupped her cheek with his large hand and pressed a kiss on top of her blond head. "Everything will be okay, I promise." He winked at her. "I'm gonna check on Ness while you two chat."

Aimee watched as Tony left the room. She stared at the phone in her hands for several minutes, chewing on the inside of her lip. Her heart beat quickly in her chest as she stared at the number on Tony's phone. All she had to do was press dial and it would call Gibbs. Tears continued to trace a path down her cheeks as she used her thumb to hit dial. She put the phone to her ear and listened to it ring in her ear.

"Gibbs."

Aimee's heart rate increased further when she heard Gibbs' soft voice on the end of the line. His voice sounded gentle and kind, encouraging her to speak.

"Daddy, it's me, Aimee…"


End file.
